The 6th Annual PEA Awards attracted over 120 self-entries, complemented by recommendations from the PEA editorial team and supported by industry data

The awards saw 22 firms collect much coveted accolades at the 6th Annual PEA Awards Gala Dinner hosted at London’s prestigious Savoy hotel on 1st June, which attracted about 250 industry professionals.

The recipient of this year’s Outstanding Leadership Award was Ziad Oueslati, co-founding Partner at AfricInvest, for his contributions to the growth of the industry. This is the only award given to an individual and voted on by industry peers.

One of the evening’s highlights was the LP Award that went to CDC for its work in developing the private equity industry in Africa. This is the first time an LP Investor has been recognised at the awards.

The much coveted Sub-Saharan Africa House of the Year was picked up by Development Partners International (DPI) – which also had a win in the Portfolio Company category, for its social impact in HomeChoice, a consumer retailer based in South Africa.

In the house category Investec Asset Management held on to its crown as Credit Investor of the Year, also taking the Credit Deal of the Year for IHS Nigeria.

Helios continued its reign as lead dealer in the transactions category, walking away with the Large Cap Deal of the Year for Oando Gas & Power. The Mid Cap Deal of the Year went to 8 Miles for Beloxxi, while Apis Partners took Small Cap Deal of the Year for Direct Pay Online. This is the first time Apis wins a PEA award.

In the Advisory category, Clifford Chance continued to reign as king in the legal space, winning the much contested Overall Legal Advisor of the Year, covering aggregated advisor work across funds and deals. Clifford Chance also scooped the Deals Legal Advisor of the Year, while Funds Legal Advisor of the Year went to Webber Wentzel.

KPMG won special recognition with Global Financial Advisor of the Year, while, Abax Securities was awarded Fund Administrator of the Year, a first-time win for the firm.

Of special note was the newly introduced Venture Philanthropy Africa Award that went to Helios Investment Partners for its corporate social work in the continent.

The 2017 PEA Awards winners were chosen by an independent panel of leading industry participants with representation from CDC, HarbourVest, IFC, LPEQ, Hamilton Lane, Rede Partners, Aon Hewitt, Swedfund, Sarona Asset Management and Cebile Capital.

The 6th Annual PEA Awards attracted over 120 self-entries, complemented by recommendations from the PEA editorial team and supported by industry data. Award shortlists were compiled in partnership with the London Business School Private Equity Institute.

Commenting on the awards, Gail Mwamba, the Awards Chair and Managing Editor at Private Equity Africa, said:

“The 2017 Awards reflect the continuing dynamism of the private equity market in Africa, showcasing some of the continent’s most transformative private equity investment deals and advisory work over the past year. We were hugely impressed by the calibre of all the entries this year, a remarkable achievement against challenging conditions across the continent.”

“Congratulations to the winners. The awards were a fitting sequel to the LP-GP Summit, a day of debate and discussion around what lies ahead for the next decade in Africa. We can certainly look forward to gathering again next year.”

Private Equity Africa 2017 Award Winners

• LP AWARD: CDC – Award collected by Murray Grant, Managing Director – Intermediated Equity at CDC.
• OUTSTANDING LEADERSHIP AWARD: Ziad Oueslati, co-founding Partner at AfricInvest. Award presented by Runa Alam, Chief Executive Officer at DPI. This accolade is awarded based on voting by leading industry investors.
• VENTURE PHILANTHROPY AFRICA AWARD: Helios Investment Partners. Award collected by Henry Obi, Chief Operating Officer at Helios.

HOUSE AWARDS

HOUSE OF THE YEAR:

• Sub-Saharan Africa House of the Year: Development Partners International (DPI). Award collected by Runa Alam, Chief Executive Officer at DPI.
• SME Investor of the Year: AfricInvest. Award collected by Ziad Oueslati, co-founding Partner at AfricInvest.
• Credit Investor of the Year: Investec Asset Management. Award collected by Nick Tims, Managing Director at Investec.

SPECIAL RECOGNITION: HOUSES

• Regional Investor – North Africa: Mediterrania Capital Partners. Award collected by Albert Alsina, Managing Partner at Mediterrania.

DEAL AWARDS

• Exit of the Year: Actis for Emerging Markets Payments. Award collected by Rick Phillips, Partner at Actis.
• Large Cap Deal of the Year: Helios for Oando Gas & Power. Award collected by Henry Obi, Chief Operating Officer at Helios.
• Mid Cap Deal of the Year: 8 Miles for Beloxxi. Award collected by Sir Bob Geldof, Chairman at 8 Miles.
• Small Cap Deal of the Year: Apis Partners for Direct Pay Online. Award collected by Asad Naqvi, Managing Director at Apis.
• Credit Deal of the Year: Investec Asset Management for IHS Nigeria. Award collected by Roland Janssens, Director at Investec.

SPECIAL RECOGNITION: DEALS

• Infrastructure Exit: African Infrastructure Investment Managers (AIIM) for N3 Toll, Trans Africa and Bakwena Platinum Corridor. Award collected by Romain Py, Investment Director at AIIM.

PORTFOLIO AWARDS

PORTFOLIO COMPANY OF THE YEAR

• Development Impact: Emerging Capital Partners (ECP) for Oragroup. Award collected by Andrew Brown, Chief Investment Officer at ECP.
• Social Impact: Development Partners International (DPI) for HomeChoice. Award collected by Runa Alam, Chief Executive Officer at DPI.
• Innovation: Quona Capital for Zoona. Award collected by Monica Brand Engel, Partner at Quona.
• Improvement: Quona Capital for Zoona. Award collected by Monica Brand Engel, Partner at Quona.

ADVISOR AWARDS

ADVISORS OF THE YEAR

• Overall Legal Advisor of the Year (Deals & Funds): Clifford Chance. Award collected by Spencer Baylin, Partner at Clifford Chance.
• Funds Legal Advisor of the Year: Webber Wentzel. Award collected by Nicole Paige, Partner at Webber Wentzel.
• Deals Legal Advisor of the Year: Clifford Chance. Award collected by Spencer Baylin, Partner at Clifford Chance.
• Local Advisor of the Year – Legal: Bowmans. Award collected by James Westgate, Partner at Bowmans.
• Local Advisor of the Year – Financial: Pangaea Securities. Award collected by Ceaser Siwale, Chief Executive Officer at Pangaea.
• Single Deal Advisor – Legal: Bowmans for Tsebo. Award collected by James Westgate, Partner at Bowmans.
• Single Deal Advisor – Financial: KPMG for Tsebo. Award collected by Adele de Jager, Director at KPMG.
• Single Deal Advisor – Infrastructure: Latham & Watkins for Azura Power. Award collected by Kem Ihenacho, Partner at Latham & Watkins.
• Single Deal Advisor – Frontier: Grant Thornton for Microcred. Award collected by Amaechi Nsofor, Partner at Grant Thornton.
• Fund Administrator of the Year: Abax Services. Award collected by John Félicité, Managing Director at Abax.

SPECIAL RECOGNITIONS: ADVISORS

• Global Financial Advisor: KPMG. Award collected by Adele de Jager, Director at KPMG.
• Regional Advisor – North Africa: Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer. Award collected by Rob Cant, Partner at Freshfields.
• Exceptional Single Deal Advisor: Aluko & Oyebode. Award collected by Ayodeji Oyetunde, Partner at Aluko & Oyebode.